SUBJECTS: Melbourne protests; increased security for parliamentarians; vaccination rates; Federal election; lack of trust in Scott Morrison and his Government; last sitting fortnight of Parliament for the year; cashless debit cards.
 
FRAN KELLY, HOST: Well, speaking of those anti-vaccination rallies, Labor says the Prime Minister has passed up the opportunity to show national leadership by failing to condemn, in outright terms, the angry threats of violence and even death which have been levelled against some politicians. Anthony Albanese has been briefed by the Federal Police on the risks MPs could face from extremists. The Labor Leader joins me in the Parliament House studios now. It's a busy place this morning. Anthony Albanese, welcome back to Breakfast.
 
ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Good morning, Fran. It is indeed. Good to see you on your home run.
 
KELLY: Home run, indeed. Anthony Albanese, Labor's accusing the Prime Minister of dangerous dog-whistling doublespeak, given these anti-vaccination rallies have been co-opted by some far-right groups. Are you saying that you hold the Prime Minister responsible for that violent imagery and language that we have seen in recent days? What exactly are you accusing him of?
 
ALBANESE: I hold the Prime Minister responsible for failing to call out, unequivocally, the violent and extreme comments that are made, the taking of gallows, the threatening of Labor MPs and premiers and independents, the fact that so many MPs have to have security at the moment. And there is always a but, Fran. We heard it again from Simon Birmingham. Barnaby Joyce, this morning, we heard as well. The Prime Minister should be capable of just showing leadership, not being weak, and saying that these comments and this behaviour is unacceptable in Australia in 2021.
 
KELLY: Well, let me ask if you would do it. Because we all know there were plenty of people at the Melbourne rally, in particular, that were the subject of that violent imagery. Plenty of people there who were just there to protest. They're concerned about elements of the bill. They're concerned about lockdowns. They're concerned about vaccine mandates. What do you want to hear from the Prime Minister in that case? How could he have satisfied you that he's not given encouragement or comfort to the demonstration?
 
ALBANESE: Just give the first sentence, not the second. And where it becomes a real problem for this Prime Minister is he needs to explain why his Facebook post took off the bit condemning the violent imagery and the threats that were being made and just put in there his caveat, if you like, his pitch, to those people about freedom and choice. He needs to explain that's the case. He needs to explain why it is that when he talks about choice, for example, that people want the right to go and have a cup of coffee in Brisbane, why he doesn't call out the exact same rules that are in place in my home city of Sydney. I got a cup of coffee yesterday. I had to login. I had to show my vax certificate. When I went to the pub on Thursday night, the General Gordon in St Peters was pumping, Fran, everyone there was fully vaccinated. They had to show their vaccinations in order to get in. But what he does is it's always about the politics. He just picks out the Labor states, criticises them as if this is a partisan issue instead of rising above it, instead of showing national leadership. And these images require national leadership because we know where they can end.
 
KELLY: Well, let's talk about where they will end. You had a meeting, I understand, with the AFP last week. What are they telling you? How real is the danger of MPs from the more extreme anti-vaxxers and other protesters? Are the police concerned?
 
ALBANESE: Well, we know there's increased security, Fran. I just walked past Josh Frydenberg holding a press conference. He has security with him. It's not normal for a Treasurer to have security with them. I had a briefing off the Home Affairs Minister. And she was very professional and courteous in doing so after the murder of the British MP, the second one to be murdered over recent years. We know that you've got to call out this behaviour for what it is.
 
KELLY: So, the mood at the moment is pretty febrile, we can see that. There's a lot of anger around. A lot of anger not all from far-right extremists, but it has the capacity to change the debate and change the temperature of things. You are one of the country's most high-profile politicians. You're going to be doing a lot of campaigning between now and whenever the election is held. Do you feel safe?
 
ALBANESE: I am more concerned about security issues than I have been in the past.
 
KELLY: Than you've ever been?
 
ALBANESE: Than I have been the past, that is right.
 
KELLY: And are the Federal Police advising that you should be more concerned?
 
ALBANESE: Well, I'm not going to talk about all of the details of the briefings, Fran.
 
KELLY: Okay. Just back to that notion of the Prime Minister saying you should be able to get a cup of coffee in Brisbane whether you are vaxxed or unvaxxed when the nation, basically, double vaxxed levels reach 80 per cent, state governments, he says, should step back out of their citizens lives.
 
ALBANESE: No, only some state governments, Fran. He never talks about New South Wales.
 
KELLY: Do you think there should be a uniform rule? I mean, should it have been 80 per cent? Yes, New South Wales is going for closer to 95 per cent. Victoria is saying it might not be until 2023. What do you think?
 
ALBANESE: I'll tell you what I think. I think that our federation is broken and needs fixing. I think we need a national Prime Minister in this country who works with state premiers and territory leaders rather than against them and rather than plays politics. And what I've done, Fran, is not second guess the health advice of, be it, Premier Perrottet, or Premier Andrews, or Premier Palaszczuk or indeed Premier Marshall. And of course, Tasmania has been more closed than any state in terms of its state borders. They have done a terrific job of keeping people safe. And I speak regularly to premiers and chief ministers. And certainly, I just think that they deserve better than this game playing from a Prime Minister who wants to take credit for high vaccination rates, but then criticises all the measures that have led to those high vaccination rates.
 
KELLY: It's reported this morning, and Simon Birmingham has just confirmed, the Prime Minister will announce today that soon the Government will allow 200,000 visa holders into the country, foreign students, refugees, skilled workers. Soon. We don't know any more precise timing.
 
ALBANESE: Another headline without any substance, Fran.
 
KELLY: Do you support that? Should it happen quickly?
 
ALBANESE: Another headline. This Prime Minister got a headline more than a year ago saying all Australian citizens would be allowed to return home by Christmas. That is Christmas of last year, not this year. We'll wait and see what the detail is.
 
KELLY: Let's go to the bills. The religious freedom bill will be unveiled tomorrow. We already know some of what's in it. The Folau clause has been dumped, a provision that would have allowed doctors to discriminate against patients on the ground of their religion will be dumped, has been dumped. Is Labor going to support this bill?
 
ALBANESE: I haven't seen it, Fran.
 
KELLY: But we know a fair bit in it.
 
ALBANESE: No. We know the spin that's come from the Prime Minister's office. With respect, Fran, I want to see the bill. We have our processes. Do I support religious freedom? Absolutely. Absolutely. But we need to see the bill. And if the Government was at all fair dinkum, I've spoken to religious leaders, can I say this, who are very disappointed that the Government, on an issue which should not be an issue of partisan politics, has not worked in a bipartisan way across this Parliament, as Scott Morrison is always seeking to divide rather than bring people together.
 
KELLY: Anthony Albanese, this is the final sitting week before we hit into an election year. So, it's going to help frame the national mood and voters are starting to sort of get the message that something's going on.
 
ALBANESE: We are in pre-caretaker mode of the election, Fran.
 
KELLY: We are. I think that's fair to say. It may be a long way. We don't know the timing yet. But already we're seeing a pretty alarming campaign by some Labor MPs warning that if the Coalition's re-elected, age pensioners will be forced onto cashless debit cards. I mean, is that how you're going to try and win the election, by MediScare type two?
 
ALBANESE: Fran, this Government has spent tens of millions of dollars on the Indue card. That's essentially a privatisation of our social security system.
 
KELLY: The cashless debit card, the Minister says, 'I can categorically say there never has been and never will be, under this Government, any intention to require age pensioners to go on cashless debit cards'. Will you call off this scare campaign?
 
ALBANESE: Fran, they had to amend their own legislation that they introduced before the Parliament that could have allowed it to be expanded.
 
KELLY: But they're not going to allow it.
 
ALBANESE: Well, what they say today, Fran, if that's their position, they should just support the bill. They can support the bill which would ensure that it was ruled out. And they should do so. This is a Government that say things based upon the 24-hour media cycle, and then change their mind tomorrow. It's all about that focus. And we know that a range of, including LNP branches, have passed resolutions calling for the expansion of the cashless welfare card, as they call it. And we know that this Prime Minister regards pensioners as being on welfare.
 
KELLY: Anthony Albanese, thanks very much for joining us.
 
ALBANESE: Thanks very much, Fran.
 
ENDS